Walt Disney pledge to ban junk food adverts

Walt Disney is not just all fairytales and happy smiles, it is also an advertisers dream – offering companies wishing to boost product sales large, young and impressionable audiences in exchange for huge sums of money for advertising slots. But is that all about to change?

The TV and film giant have now pledged to join the battle against childhood obesity in America, and will be banning junk food ads from its TV, radio and online programmes.

Whilst many see this as a positive step towards tackling America’s childhood obesity problem, there is some scepticism over how far the company will really go to make a difference.

The new rules are not being implemented until 2015 and the company will set their own standards as to how they define junk food.

Disney have said that any cereals containing 10 grams or more of sugar per individual serving, meals with over 600 calories and sugary drinks and high sodium products would all be off air from 2015. Other standards have not yet been revealed.

Despite concerns from some sceptics, First Lady Michelle Obama who has been activily campaigning against the rising levels of childhood obesity for some years, has welcomed the new plans.

“Just a few years ago if you had told me or any other mom or dad in America that our kids wouldn’t see a single ad for junk food while they watched their favourite cartoons on a major TV network, we wouldn’t have believed you,” She said.